17 August 2013

Tinariwen - Imidiwan

Some music you stumble across
by accident - about 4 years I was purchasing a magazine to read whilst waiting
for people, it was Moro and it had a CD based on the new wave of music coming
out of the Africa. One of the tracks was by a band from Northern Mali,
based in the Sahara desert called Tinariwen. Formed in 1979 Tinariwen
started to get notice outside of North Africa in 2001 and hit the big time figuratively
with the 2007 release 'Aman Iman'. Imidiwan is the follow up and was
recorded is various caves and homemade studios in the desert to give the songs
the unique flavour of the environment and what the band knows. Quite
ironically the other day Mrs Carter asked me to review something from Africa,
so the timing of this is nice.

If your idea of music has to
have distortion, electronic dance beats, smooth slick Holly-weird dance
routines and Jay-Z; you will have to look elsewhere. This is a peaceful album,
as gentle as a stream and hypnotic. It feels rude to not understand what they are
singing, but part of me just loves the natural rhythm of this record. It is
possibly what happens in every corner of the world when an artist of a
different language is found by someone else who loves the music but cannot
understand the meaning of the world's behind the beauty. But this is my
fault and something that I will have to sort out. Their official
language is Tuareg from southern Sahara and their latest album has an English
translation of their lyrics which reads like love poems to the desert and the
world, but alas nothing that I could find for this one.

The music has a blues vibe (a genre that the band did not hear before they
started to tour the world) but without the sadness that comes with the American
blues. Maybe a musical connection which has origins in years long gone,
who knows to be honest. I am sure someone will be able to make a link but
I am woefully uneducated in the area and would not want to give my two penny
worth until I had some more facts. All I do know is that songs like
"Enseqi Ehad Didagh", "Tenhert" (the song I first heard by
the band), "Assuf Ag Assuf" and "Lulla" are just beautiful
to me. They just speak to a part of my being which does not need to
understand the words; it does not need to do anything but enjoy what is on
offer here which is understated, simple as it is complex, beautiful as it is
powerful. This is wonderful, haunting and worth making the effort.

8 out of ten - Oh, now you
have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart

Life of Agony can never be accused of taking the easy route, that is something that can be said for them. It could be the fact that the...

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Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens